Being a Yankee fan, I must confess that I was just a tad
distressed (to put it mildly) with the final outcome of the seventh game of the
2001 World Series.

In fact, after the events of that fateful bottom of the
ninth inning in Arizona on November 4th, I could not tolerate watching one
single replay of the World Series. For days, I avoided all my usual cable
haunts, such as ESPN and FOX Sports, in order to ensure what I saw that evening
would not be repeated before my eyes.

No matter, I remained terribly vexed. Many questions
remained in my mind. Most specifically: “Just what the hell
happened?” It all seemed so fast. I never did get the number of
that Diamondback bus which had flattened me ugly that Sunday.

So, finally, very late on the night of December 16, 2001,
six weeks to the day after the hardball heartbreak, it was time to “suck it
up” and I popped in the videotape. Clearly, more than a thousand hours
now past, I was strong enough (fingers crossed) to reexamine the horror.
Heck, at the least, perhaps it would be therapeutic?

In case the latter applies, to fuel any possible healing, I
am herein documenting the findings of this gonfalon post-mortem.

Mariano Rivera had entered the game to start the bottom of
the eighth inning and gave no indication with his performance there that Yankee
fans should be concerned.

With the Yankees leading 2-1, Rivera’s disposal of the
Diamondbacks in the eighth was replete with apparent precision - - 14 pitches
(of which only three were called balls with the rest either being strikes, fouls
or hits).

Luis Gonzalez struck out on a 2-2 pitch. Matt
Williams struck out on a 0-2 pitch. And, Danny Bautista struck out on a
0-2 pitch in an At Bat that followed a single by Steve Finely. (The latter
single, which followed Williams’ whiff, was landed on a 1-0 pitch.
Finley had delivered a line drive between first and second base.)

Vintage Rivera: Four batters, three strikeouts, and
no damage whatsoever.

Onward, we advance to the epicenter of my lamentation, the
bottom of the ninth inning.

In order to provide some drama and excitement for
those who chose to reside under a rock during the series, the narrative from
this point will be primarily present tense.

Yankees still cling to a 2-1 lead. Mark Grace is the
first batter for Arizona. He takes the first pitch from Rivera, which is
inside for a ball. On the 1-0 pitch, which was a high strike, he laces a
clean single to centerfield. Without haste, David Dellucci replaces Grace
as a pinch runner.

No one out and runner on first.

Damian Miller is the second batter to face Rivera.
Mariano’s first offering is bunted foul by Miller, straight down into the
ground. After a throw to first to check the runner, the 0-1 pitch from
Rivera (which was high and inside) is bunted fair by Miller.

Rivera fields the ball, directly in front of the
pitcher’s mound, approximately 20 feet away from the rubber, and throws to
Derek Jeter covering second base in an attempt to force Dellucci for an out.

However, Rivera’s throw is approximately 6 feet wide of
the bag, to Jeter’s left (the right field side of the diamond), and Dellucci
was safe at second base. (Still photographs of this play confirm that an
accurate throw would have resulted in the force, retiring Dellucci at second.)

Two batters into the inning, no one out and runners now on
first and second.

Jay Bell steps to the plate to pinch-hit for the pitcher,
Randy Johnson.

Bell bunts the first pitch from Rivera. Mariano
fields the bunt almost midway between the pitcher’s mound and the third base
foul line, approximately 30 feet from home plate, and throws to Scott Brosius
covering third base - - effectively forcing David Dellucci at third.

At this time, the broadcast announcers for FOX Sports
questioned as to whether or not Brosius settled for the one out when he may have
had a play at first base as well, retiring Bell.

On the replay, it is clear that Brosius never looked at
Bell or first base. Immediately after catching the throw from Rivera,
Brosius looked towards second base, checking the incoming base runner Miller.

Upon my examination of the same replay, it was unclear as
to whether or not Brosius would have been able to retire Bell with a throw to
first. Therefore, my conclusion is that Brosius’ cautious play was the
smart move - in that situation. No need to risk the throw unless it was
certain you could retire the runner.

At this point, Bob Brenly elected to pinch run for Miller
at second with Midre Cummings.

Runners now on first and second with one out. Yankees
still lead by one run.

Tony Womack is the fourth batter of the inning. He
quickly gets ahead of Rivera - - taking the first pitch low and inside for
a ball and the second offering inside for ball two. However, Rivera comes
back with two quick strikes to even the count - - the third pitch of the At Bat
was a high strike and the fourth serve was high strike, fouled off.

The 2-2 pitch to Womack appeared to be heading inside
before Tony lines it cleanly into right field for a single. It was sent
safely over the head of Tino Martinez at first base (by a wide margin) and it
lands approximately 10 feet within the right field foul line. It is
fielded by Shane Spencer at the foul line and he throws over Martinez to home
plate.

Rivera cut the ball off approximately 10 feet in front of
home plate as Midre Cummings scored easily from second base to tie the game.
Jay Bell advanced to third and Womack to second on the play. (Spencer’s
overthrow of Martinez had no impact on Bell and Womack advancing the extra
bases. Given the placement of the hit, and Womack’s speed, both would
have reached even if Martinez were able to cut off the throw.)

Four batters into the inning, it is now a tie game with
runners on second and third with one out.

At this point, the Yankees elect to play with their infield
in and their outfield shallow.

Craig Counsell is the next batter to face Rivera.
Mariano’s first pitch is fouled downward for strike one. On the 0-1
pitch, Counsell is hit on the right hand by a pitch up and in. (On replay,
to the naked eye on normal replay slow motion, it could have been construed that
the pitch did not hit Counsell. However, on videotape, with the assistance
of magnification and super-slow-mo single frame advancement, I can verify that
the pitch did indeed strike Counsell, albeit barely glancing.)

Tie game. Based loaded. One out.

Luis Gonzalez, who struck out against Rivera to start the
eighth inning, was now the batter.

Rivera’s first pitch to Gonzalez was a high strike -
which Luis fouled back.

On the 0-1 pitch from Rivera, which appeared to be another
high strike, Gonzalez delivers an inside-out swing yielding a soft liner, over
the head of shortstop Derek Jeter (who was positioned at the inner edge of the
infield grass approximately 15 feet to the left of second base). The ball
drops in safely, landing just past the outer edge of the infield skin.

Jay Bell scores from third base to win the game, and the
World Series for the Arizona Diamondbacks.

In the ninth, as he did in the eighth, Rivera threw
fourteen pitches. Much like the eighth inning, his ability to throw
strikes was evident. In facing six batters in the final frame, only four of the
fourteen pitches from Mariano were called balls or resulting in a hit batter
with the rest either being strikes, fouls or hits.

Amazingly, from the first pitch to Grace (to start the
inning) to the last pitch to Gonzalez (to end the game), only ten minutes in
time elapsed. The damage occurred that quickly. It truly was a blur
to me. This is why “it all seemed so fast” in my memory all this time.

Having witnessed it all again, closely, I no longer had any
doubt as to “just what the hell happened.”

This all said, even as a Yankee fan, I have to objectively
admit that the Diamondbacks out hit, pitched and fielded New York during the
overall series and deserved to win.

However, that still does not ease my sorrow over the fact
that, even while out played, the Yankees were two outs away from winning game
seven (and the series). This is further amplified by the closeness of many
events in the ninth - - - the throw to second on Dellucci, the inability to
finish off Womack on a 2-2 count, Counsell’s extending the inning by getting
nicked with a pitch, and Gonzalez’ hit that would have been an out (if not for
the runner on third necessitating bringing in the infield).